Author Archives: scientificecstatic

Blue Moon: What the Discovery of Water on the Moon Means for the Possibility of Lunar Life

On October 26th, 2020 NASA announced that its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) discovered water for the first time on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This is not the first time water has been detected on the Moon. A Soviet probe took samples from the Moon in 1976 that contained 0.1% water byContinue reading “Blue Moon: What the Discovery of Water on the Moon Means for the Possibility of Lunar Life”

Identity and Costume: A Look at Bo Bartlett’s Halloween

I hadn’t intended to write anything today, but a painting popped up on my Twitter feed this morning that I found so compelling, that I wanted to quickly share some thoughts on it. Halloween is a 2016 oil painting by the American realist painter Bo Bartlett. The most striking element of the painting is theContinue reading “Identity and Costume: A Look at Bo Bartlett’s Halloween”

Logic: Aristotelian vs. The School of Nyaya

With the United States presidential election just days away, we’re inundated with arguments and debates, as various candidates from both parties desperately pitch their ideas and ideologies in a final bid for votes. We are constantly bombarded with competing arguments, competing facts and figures, and even competing versions of reality. How can we sort throughContinue reading “Logic: Aristotelian vs. The School of Nyaya”

The Biochemistry of Autumn

It’s hard not to think about death on a cool October day. Ghosts and ghouls decorate houses in anticipation of Halloween. Dead leaves crunch beneath your feet. The earthy scent of autumn wafts in the brisk wind. The forest seems to glow with red, orange, and golden leaves whispering in the breeze before falling, formingContinue reading “The Biochemistry of Autumn”